


Ranyouhen

by phfatbeatrice



Category: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Higurashi When They Cry
Genre: Abuse, ED - Freeform, Eating Disorder, Gen, Murder, Neglect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28566501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phfatbeatrice/pseuds/phfatbeatrice
Summary: Satoshi had run away because of her. Satoko had become sure of that. Out of all of her family, she was the cursed one. It hadn’t been she and Satoshi like she had suspected originally. No, it was just Satoko. She was the damned Houjou, the one left to bear all of the pain of the legacy left behind by her late parents.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ranyouhen](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/738234) by phfatbeatrice. 



> Hello! 
> 
> This is a fanfic that I actually wrote originally back in 2011, but upon getting back into Higurashi because of the 2020 release, here we are. This is a rewrite, much much improved from the thing I wrote when I was 16. 
> 
> This story covers abuse, neglect, murder, eating disorder behaviors, and other things to that degree. I know that most of these should be expected with Higurashi, but I feel it's important to still ut a content warning! 
> 
> Please leave me a review! 
> 
> ~Eric

The light in the center of the ceiling buzzed as it illuminated the bedroom. It was the only thing making any noise this late into the night. After all, all of the residents of the home should have been asleep. Should being the key term.

A small child, no older than 11 or 12, was laying in her thin futon staring up at the dim light that she still needed to shut off. Her mind was still so busy that she had gotten into bed without dealing with it. 

Her slightly raspy voice let out a sigh as she ran her thin hand over her bruised face. She sat up and pushed the comforter off of her body before letting out a quiet grunt as she pushed up off of the floor. She needed to shut that buzzy light off. She would never get any sleep with it on, after all. 

As she climbed back into bed once the room was bathed in darkness, she closed her eyes and tried to push her busy mind to rest. She couldn’t get the thoughts to stop running through her mind. 

So many bad things had happened to her over the years, and those bad things seemed to never have an end. The first incident was when she was too young to really understand the weight of, but her parents had gone through so much because of the dam project protests. Because of their support of the project, they had been shunned and abused up until their deaths. 

After her parents had passed away, she and her brother had been sent to live with their aunt and uncle. Things only become worse at that point. The two siblings had found themselves in the care of cruel individuals who had no actual care for the two of them. In fact, they were treated very poorly, abuse becoming a day to day occurrence. 

The abuse that they faced had come from all angles, really. Because of who they were, Satoko Houjou and Satoshi Houjou were outsiders in Hinamizawa. Their parents had supported the dam project, making them traitors to the village. That damned their whole family, the siblings included. In public, shop owners and townspeople alike would actively bully and completely neglect the two of them, despite the two youngest Houjous having not been responsible for their parents’ actions. At home, the two were beaten, starved, and yelled at regularly for becoming a bother to their aunt and uncle. It was as if the whole world was against them.

That was until Satoko’s aunt died. Then Satoshi disappeared. 

Satoshi had run away because of her. Satoko had become sure of that. Out of all of her family, she was the cursed one. It hadn’t been she and Satoshi like she had suspected originally. No, it was just Satoko. She was the damned Houjou, the one left to bear all of the pain of the legacy left behind by her late parents. 

These were the thoughts that plagued her late in the night when she was in pain from her uncle’s abuse and couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t help but obsess over everything that she had done to push Satoshi away. She couldn’t help but think of how dependent on him she had been. The strain that must have put on the highschooler… Satoko couldn’t even imagine. 

Everything that happened… It was Satoko’s fault. 

That fault bore on her shoulders like the weight of the world. It hurt worse than the metal ashtray that had been thrown at her earlier in the day. It hurt worse than when her uncle would push her down and spit on her. It all hurt so much. 

Because of this, Satoko felt like she needed to repent for the deaths and disappearances that were her responsibility. She needed to prove to her Nii-Nii that she was independent and could handle her own now. Then he would come back. 

Those thoughts plagued her until the sun peaked through the curtains to the left of her futon. Despite the pain in her head and stomach from the abuse the night before, she sat up and trudged to get her outfit changed for school. Despite her body’s angry protests in the form of pain wracking through her joints, she ran the brush through her hair and went to brush her teeth. 

Satoko had to make her way to school, even if she found herself unable to stay the whole day. She need to make some kind of appearance or her teacher, Chie-sensei, and her friends, Mion, Rika, and Rena, would become more concerned. Satoko needed to show that she could handle it all. If she didn’t… Did she even deserve her Nii-Nii’s return? 

The gradeschoorler finished getting herself ready and started out to make her way to school. She spotted her uncle who was passed on the couch, having been too drunk the night before to even make it to his own futon to sleep. How unpleasant. 

Satoko opened the door slowly as to not disturb the alcoholic as she slipped out to go to school. He probably would have kept her home if he had awoken, since she did still bear a bruise on the bridge of her nose from the metal ashtray he had thrown at her the day before. However, it had been over a few days since she had last gone. 

The petite girl got on her bicycle and started on her way to school. As she pedaled in the direction of her school building, she acknowledged the way that her stomach growled from the lack of dinner she had had the night before. 

Since her brother had disappeared months before on the night after Watanagashi, Satoko had lost her appetite, finding it difficult to eat most days. When she found herself hungry, she often ignored the feeling. After all, she had the feeling as if she didn’t really deserve those meals when she couldn’t even properly prove herself as a good sister. 

This starving problem was something that she had developed as both a punishment for the horrible things she had allowed to happen around her and also a way to cope with the absolute lack of control she had over anything. She couldn’t control the abuse, the neglect, the harassment she faced. 

She approached the school and felt her heart racing. Her friends always showed her so much concern when she returned to school from her breaks of being sick or ‘accidentally falling down the stairs’ or whatever other excuse that she came up with to cover the bruises and injuries she seemed to endlessly have. 

“Hey, Satoko!” Class president and the oldest student in the school, Mion Sonozaki, greeted. “Where have you been? Are you okay?” Mion asked as she approached her underclassmen. She, in a familiar kind of way, put a hand on Satoko’s shoulder to show her support to the other. 

The small girl tensed up and looked up at Mion with empty eyes, “I’m fine… I fell down the stairs a few days ago and was having some trouble walking much. But a few days rest helped and now I feel better.” She announced, hoping that she relayed that lie in a way that made it believable. The touch of Mion’s hand on her shoulder had caused her to flinch, which she knew only weakened her case.

“You look you haven’t sleep lately… Maybe you should go to the infirmary and take a nap, maybe.” Another upperclassmen spoke, Rena Ryuuguu. She had wide but firm eyes that were studying the small girl’s battered face. 

“No, I’m fine.” Satoko spoke softly, her voice shaking a little from the sudden pressure she had on her over this whole situation of everyone paying so much attention to her. 

The last of her friends moved to stand near Satoko, looking at her with a concerned expression. “Satoko, you look a little pale… Mii… Maybe skipping on the infirmary isn’t such a good idea. Or maybe take the day off?” Rika Furude spoke in her high pitch voice. 

Satoko couldn’t help as a feeling of angry rolled through her, causing her stomach to churn and her heart to pound so hard she could hear it. “I said I’m fine!” The blonde shouted suddenly, dodging her group of friends to get to her desk. She pulled her chair out from under the desk with such force, it could have fallen over. 

The young shrine maiden flinched at Satoko’s rather inappropriate reaction, replying quietly, “O-okay…” Rika said in a shaky voice before she turned her attention over to Mion, a concerned expression painted on her soft features. 

Rika couldn’t help her worry for Satoko when she was living with her uncle. Everyone knew the kinds of things that went on in the Houjou home, but without the confirmation from Satoko, there was only her bruises as proof. Knowing this, Rika worried. She turned her attention to Mion and pointed to the sliding door subtly. 

The upperclassman nodded just a little and made her way out into the hall, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she did so. 

Rike also made her way to the hall before closing the sliding door in hopes that others wouldn’t hear their conversation. “I think Satoko is lying,” She stated in a very serious voice, one that seemed ill-fitting when compared to the tone she often spoke in. 

Mion, with no hesitation, replied. “You don’t think….?” She started, a frown on her face. Everyone knew at least a little of what went on in the Houjou household. Without Satoshi, Satoko was handling all of the abuse on her own. 

“Mii…” Rika replied quietly, her brows coming together in worry. “If that’s the case, we need to get her out of that house.” 

“I know… but how? We’ve already tried calling Child Protective Services and they were no help. We can’t just trick her uncle into letting her go…” Mion replied, nervously adjusting her vest with her hands. 

Rika nodded, a frown on her face. “I know… And we can’t just kidnap her. Ooishi would get involved, and we don’t want that.” 

Mion let out a sound of agreement and lifted her head to look at Rika without her hair in her face. “I think we should mule over this during class and then we can talk with Rena about it after class with a fresh mind…” 

The smaller girl nodded, replying with a quiet, “Mii….” before she lead the way back into the small classroom. The first thing that Rika noticed when she stepped inside was the way Satoko’s lavender eyes glared at her. 

“Don’t talk about me behind my back.” Satoko spoke clearly before turning to face the front of the room. Even though she made it sound like she was okay, her heart was pounding so hard and she couldn’t focus her eyes on anything. Her breathing was shallow and she felt dizzy. 

‘Did they know… Not just about the abuse, but the things that I am doing to ensure my strength…?’ She pondered in her thoughts. Mion had always been very perceptive and was well versed in the world of punishment games — wasn’t Satoko’s control of her food only just a punishment game for letting Satoshi leave? Not letting him leave, instead pushing him away. These thoughts instilled fear into the blonde and she couldn’t handle it. She felt like she was going to pass out from the pressure of it all. 

Satoko was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard when their teacher, Chie-sensei, had called on her. She didn’t noticed the teacher until she was right in front of her, “Satoko-chan? Satoko-chan? I would like to speak with you.” 

Satoko finally heard the other, and she flinched unintentionally because of being called upon. “Y-yes, ma’am.” She muttered out, her voice weak after the panic she was enduring. 

Once Satoko managed to get up out of her chair with legs like noodles, she began in the direction of Chie-sensei’s office, flinching and tensing up when she felt Chie-sensei’s hand on her back. 

“We’ll speak in here, so the other students won’t be able to hear.” Chie-sensei explained as they crossed the barrier into the office. She closed to door and guided Satoko to the other side of the room, in an attempt to once again protect the blonde’s privacy. 

Satoko was staring at her feet, observing the way that her slippers seemed a bit bigger than they used to be; could people lose weight in their feet? Maybe she was hallucinating. Satoko couldn’t rule that last thought out. She took in a small breath to ground herself and bring her attention back to reality. “What did you need me for…?” Satoko asked in a reserved tone, her arms now crossed across her chest. 

“I’m worried about you.” Chie-sensei started. Her eyes seemed to look at Satoko like a hurt puppy. “I’ve noticed that you’ve missed quite a bit of school recently, and you look so ill….” As she spoke this, she was studying Satoko’s thin body with her eyes. She had noticed that she could see every bone, every tendon as Satoko nervously strummed her elbow. It was striking in a way that only made Chie-sensei’s worry even worse. Alongside that, she could see the hollow look that Satako always wore. It was like her eyes had actually sunk a little. 

“I’m fine. I’ve just had a bit of a cold.” Satoko spoke, knowing that she needed to keep her cool while speaking with Chie-sensei. She couldn’t act out like she had with her friends. 

Chie-sensei let out a small sound of disapproval and then began talking again, “Is your uncle still in town?” She asked, aware the the answer told her the fate of Satoko’s current future. 

Satoko tighten her thin arms around herself as she responded. “Yes.”

Chie-sensei nodded slowly, “And is he feeding you enough?” She had observed that Satoko was very thin. It was terrifying to actually take in how small she really was. Her legs looked like they couldn’t even hold her up. 

“Yes, I eat three meals a day.” Satoko replied, her tone a little different than before. She couldn’t help the fact that she wasn’t the best at lying when it came to something like that. She hadn’t had anything to eat in days. 

The young teacher felt like she couldn’t take that as fact. “I… I’ve noted how you have gotten quite thin… You mentioned that you’ve been feeling ill, right? Maybe you should have a visit with Irie-san.” 

“I would rather not.” Satako said rather sharply. Her eyes wondered back to her feet as she thought of what a visit with Irie-san would entail.

“If you’re sick enough to be losing this kind of weight, seeing a doctor would be best…” Chie-sensei said, worry painted on her otherwise smooth face. 

“I’m fine.” Satoko responded again, her voice holding some level of monotony. 

Chie-sensei crossed her arms and shook her head. “You’re very obviously not. I’m going to call Irie-san. You need to have a check-up, if only to make sure that you’re sickness isn’t something major.” She said, still playing along as if it wasn’t because of the abuse she endured. 

“I don’t want to.” Satoko started, “But if you insist… I’ll go, but I’m fine.” She said in that same monotonous tone. She was using that tone to mask the fact that her heart was pounding and she had a knot in her throat. She couldn’t let them find out about the fact that she had been skipping meals and controlling her diet as a way to have some hand in what is happening to her and to become stronger for her Nii-Nii. 

Chie-san nodded, feeling some internal success with getting her to accept even just this visit with Irie-san. “I’ll call him and have him just come here to the infirmary.” She said before letting out a small sigh, “But please, tell him the truth. It’s very important. If you’re uncle is doing anything he shouldn’t… You could die.” 

Those words hit Satoko in a way that nothing anyone else had said had. She could die? But if death was the last step in this horrible situation, it would have all been for naught. She couldn’t let that happen; she was strong and was overcoming this for her Nii-nii. “Sensei….?” Her voice was a whisper, nearly audible. 

“Satoko?” Chie-sensei replied, watching the other’s face in a way to read the situation. 

“How long does it take someone to die from starvation…?” Satoko asked, her voice trembling and low. 

Chie-sensei looked at Satoko for a long moment before even beginning to think of actually answer. “Why would you like to know?” She replied, her voice still soft. 

“I’m just curious.” Satoko lied. Lying had become such a prevalent thing in her speech that it was ironic that she was bad at it when it specifically pertained to her abuse. 

Chie-sensei knew that Satoko was lying. Her uncle had been starving her… And she was suffering because of it. “Well… After a short while of only small portions of food, you would become very sick. After a couple months of this… Death is likely.” 

Satoko sucked in a small breath at that information. She had been restricting her eating for a few months, sometimes having a week or os of eating just fine, other times, fasting for at least four days. “What if… What if that were me…?” She murmured, her voice so quiet that it was almost impossible to hear. 

The teacher took a step nearer to Satoko, her expression pasted in worry. “Then I would do exactly this… Help you get back to health, make things better.” She spoke as she carefully wrapped her arms around the almost skeleton of a girl. 

Satoko didn’t move as she was embraced by her teacher. She was terrified. She had revealed a truth about her private life to someone. That was more than she could take. She was nearly vibrating from her fear. 

Chie-sensei pulled away, still close to her though. “Is all that you’re telling me true?”

The blonde didn’t speak as she wrung her hands and nodded gingerly. She was not prepared for this future. She wasn’t ready. But she had to strong for Nii-Nii. That was all that she could do: continue to prove that she was strong and independent. 

“How long has this been going on…?” Chie-sensei asked, concern lacing her voice. 

“At least a month….” Satako practically whispered. That guess was poor at best. It had probably been nearer to a few months. She felt a sense of defeat from this. 

“Is it that horrible uncle of yours?” Chie-sensei asked Satoko. 

“No…” Satoko murmured, wringing her hands as she tried to think of how to word what she wanted to say. “I… I feel like if I don’t eat… I will become stronger… for Nii-nii. It gives me control… and hope.” As she explained, her eyes began to fill with tears. 

Chie-sensei couldn’t help but gasp at the newly revealed truth behind one of the many walls that Satoko built around herself to protect herself. 

“So…. How much do you eat?” Chie-sensei asked. She hadn’t meant to probe but she was so worried and concerned that she hadn’t taken notice before. 

“I… I eat my bento at school.” Satoko replied. “But… But uncle… uncle didn’t give me a lot of food before so I ate when I could then…. Now… I really only ever eat at school.” 

Chie-sensei didn’t hesitate to react. “I’m taking you to Irie right now.”

The blonde’s eyes widened and she tensed up. “B-but…” She muttered out, her heart rate speeding up enough that she could feel her hands start to tremble even more severely than they already had been. She had just ratted herself out. Now everyone was going to find out. 

“No. Satoko, you need nutrients. You need food and water. You need the help… You’re Nii-nii would do the same thing…” Chie-sensei hesitated before reaching down and gently taking one of Satoko’s hands. She couldn’t help but notice the way that the thin girl was shaking. Despite understanding the fear the blonde was experiencing, she still guided the both of them to the door. 

As she opened the door, she felt Satoko’s hand tighten in her own. She glanced down at her before speaking out to the class, “Mion-chan, watch over the class, please. I have something I need to do.” 

The eldest girl in the class stood up from her desk and nodded, “Yes, ma’am.” She said before giving her teacher a small bow. 

Satoko felt her face as it burned from embarrassment. She knew that everyone would be talking about her once the two were out of earshot. This truth plagued her thoughts. 

Once out of the school building, Satoko couldn’t help as she let out a nervous breath she had been holding. Once led to one of the two cars sitting behind the school, Satoko slipped into Chie-sensei’s vehicle, her anxiety keeping her from being particularly observant. She knew it would only be about five minutes in the car, as the clinic was near enough. However, near or far, Satoko felt like she was going to explode from anxiety before they could make it to Irie-sensei’s office. 

Once on their way, Chie-sensei drove a bit faster than what was appropriate for the rocky roads of Hinamizawa, wanting to arrive at the clinic as soon as possible. 

Satoko was holding her head, staring at her lap as she panted. Tears had began running down her hot face, only assisting in making her face’s raise in temperature. The thoughts of what Irie might say, might do left her terrified. If he made her eat, it would ruin her. Her Nii-Nii would never return if she couldn’t prove herself as strong and independent. And what about what Irie-sensei would think…? Would he keep it a secret? Or would he tell others? The last thing she needed was to be shunned even further by the fellow villagers of Hinamizawa.

Once they pulled up at the clinic, Satoko was crying quite hard. She couldn’t breathe and it was all too much. “I-I can’t…! I-I-I can’t go in…!” Satoko managed to fight the words out despite her near hyperventilating. 

“Satoko… You have to.” Chie-sensei said, her voice rather soft, as if she was working to act as a form of comfort to the other one. 

Satoko tugged at her own hair as she sniffed before letting out a cough because of the crying she had been dong. “I-I’m not going in… H-he’ll scold me. I-I’ll… I’ll get in trouble…! Nii-nii will never be able to see h-how hard I’ve worked…!” She spoke quickly but in a breathy tone because of her tears. She had her arms tightly secured around her body and she couldn’t help but self-soothe with a gentle rocking motion as she sobbed. 

“If you don’t come in, I’ll bring him out here.” Chie-sensei said, a certain level of frank nature in her tone. Without giving Satoko a moment to process she slipped out of her seat, depressed the lock button in her car, and closed her door quickly. With the level of panic Satoko was suffering, Chie-Sensei assumed it would take her a moment to figure out how to get it unlocked, enough time for her to go get the doctor. 

The teacher sporting a bobcut proceeded into the clinic with no hesitation. The front desk nurse tried to get her attention, but Chie-Sensei had a destination. Her while shoes clicked on the floor until she made it to the knobbed door of Irie’s office. “Irie-Sensei, I need you to look at a student with me. It’s an emergency!”

The thin doctor with red hair and rectangular glasses got up from his desks before he even thought to ask, “Who is it?” 

As Chie-Sensei followed just a step behind Irie-Sensei she explained, “Houjou Satoko. She has revealed to me that she has been having issues with starvation. I insisted to her that I bring her to you. Now she’s like this...” She finished the explanation as she and Irie-sensei rushed outside, nurses following behind them. 

Satoko was in the passenger seat of the car, holding her head with one hand, clawing at her throat with the other. She was crying, hard enough that she could be heard despite being inside of the car. When her mauve eyes swept across the sudden small crowd outside, Satoko let out a scream and hit the window with her palm, “Go away!!” She yelled out. 

Irie looked at Chie and they both had managed to figure some semblance of a plan despite no actual verbal planning. Chie began working to unlock the door that Satoko was hitting while the thin doctor spoke up, “Satoko, we’re just here to help!” He called to her. 

Once Chie managed the door open, Satoko tumbled out of the car. She had been leaning against it so she had had no way to properly balance herself as the food was opened. This came with an advantage to the Clinic employees, as Satoko wasn’t immediately able to run. 

Tumbling out of the car hadn’t stopped Satoko from flailing her arms and legs, kicking and punching anything she could get a hit in. “I-I told you all I’m fine! I can do this on my own—!” Satoko screamed out as the nurses finally began holding her down. She opened her mouth to continue when the edge of her vision blurred. Had she been given something? She couldn’t remember as she dozed to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of the buzzing light was the first thing that Satoko could hear. The blonde shifted a little, a bit of confusion in her mind when she realized she wasn’t in her bed. Satoko went to move so that she could feel the bed. 

Her eyes shot open and she let out a gasp when she realized she couldn’t move. She couldn’t move her arms or legs, bindings holding her down to the infirmary bed. She immediately was thrown into a panic, let out a yell and tried to pull herself free from the bindings. Despite the fact that her body felt sore, she tugged at the ties, letting out cries of panic. 

What had happened? Where was she even? She couldn’t gather the awareness through the feeling that she was going through. “Help! Help me!” Satoko called out as she pulled against the restraints, her anxiety leaving her unable to think of anything other than this. 

Rushed footsteps padded across the floor outside of the door before the sliding door opened. The person on the other side of the door was Irie-sensei. “Satoko-chan, you’re okay. Hey, calm down.” He said as he moved close to the bed so that she could easily see him through the tears that had started gathering in her eyes. 

“I-Irie… -sensei…?” She said softly, pausing as she processed. If this was Irie-sensei, then she had to be in the clinic. When did she get there? What happened? 

“Satoko-chan, you’re safe. I can imagine that it would be alarming to wake up like this but we had no choice.” He led. “We needed to restrain you because of your illness.” 

“Illness…?” Satoko questioned. As they spoke with one another, her memory began coming back. Chie-sensei had brought her to the clinic because she had opened up about her eating habits. This gave her another wave of panic. She couldn’t believe that she had shared that information with anyone. 

Irie-sensei nodded and continued speaking, “Yes, when you and Chie-sensei arrived, you were a bit delirious. So we had to give you a shot to get you to calm down so that we could bring you into the clinic.” 

Satoko nodded slowly. She didn’t remember the fine details but that sounded right. Her next hurtle was the fear of wondering what treatment she needed to go through. 

“So, Chie-sensei relayed a bit of information to me… She said that you’ve been restricting your food.” 

Satoko bit her lip and her hands gripped into a fist. “I-I guess so.” She responded, averting her eyes for a moment. 

Irie-sensei leaned in a little closer to her, “And why would a beautiful girl like yourself be doing that to yourself…?” 

Satoko shook her head a little, not wanting to vocalize the action’s reasoning out of embarrassment now that she had learned her flawed thinking. 

Irie-sensei moved back into his prior relaxed position and he let out a hum. “Either way, we have been giving you fluids with this,” he patted the pole with a clear liquid bag hanging on it, “to combat your dehydration. I also went ahead and gave you a dose of your medication. Have you been taking it at home?”

Satoko shook her head just a little. “I-it’s at Rika’s...” She commented quietly, her voice shaking. 

The doctor nodded, “I suspected something like that. I’ve prepared you a kit to take home with you.” He shared before he shifted a little. “I’m going to leave the IV up for now, as I go contact your uncle—“

Satoko interrupted him with a sharp and panicked, “No!”

Iris-sensei was visually surprised by the sudden volume change. “Satoko-chan, he needs to know what’s going on; he is your legal guardian.” 

Satoko chewed the inside of her cheek, unable to bring herself to say anything. If she let anymore personal information freely from her, her Nii-nii would never return. 

“Satoko?” The brunette questioned, still looking at her. 

“I-it’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” Satoko knew that once she was reunited with her uncle she would pay for having not been eating. But she couldn’t speak up about the abuse. She needed to be strong. 

Irie-sensei hesitated, narrowing his eyes a little. Everyone in Hinamizawa knew at least a little about Satoko’s abuse. However, without her confirmation there was nothing that could be done. “Well, I am going to go call him now, then I will remove your restraints.” With that, he turned and left the room. 

Satoko bit her lip and turned her attention to the ceiling. She felt like a failure. She felt like there were so many things she had been working towards and she had ruined it. Despite knowing that she had told because of her fear of dying, the even deeper seed of fear of being left alone was tugging at her. Without proving herself, what kind of girl was she? How would she ever earn back the right for her Nii-nii to come home? 

The brunette doctor knocked on the sliding door of the room before opening it, stepping in. “Alright, Satoko-chan. Your uncle should be on the way soon. If you’re still acting as you are now, you should be able to go home... that is, if you promise that you take your injection and eat your dinner.” 

Satoko shook her head a little, her bangs falling into her eyes. “B-but... Nii-nii...” She muttered. 

Irie-sensei raised an eyebrow and looked at the small child, “Your Nii-nii? What about your Nii-nii?” 

“I-I...” Satoko hesitated and she looked up at the ceiling yet again. “I... have been starving myself... for Nii-nii...” Satoko said softly, her voice trembling. “If I eat, I’m not strong... I-I have to be strong for him... I know if I’m strong, Nii-nii will come back.” 

The manager couldn’t help the gasp that left his lips. He couldn’t imagine who or what had led Satoko down that line of thinking, but he needed to help in expunging it. “Satoshi-kun would never want this for you.” He said softly. 

Satoko couldn’t rebuttal. Instead, she decided it best to deflect by changing the subject. “D-didn’t you say you were undo these?” She said, pulling on one of her wrist restraints. 

Irie-sensei couldn’t help the look of disappointment on his face. He knew that she was bringing that up to avoid the subject; but could he actually blame her? Satoshi’s disappearance had hurt everyone in Hinamizawa. Everyone was hurt by his disappearance, everyone missed him, and many still grieved the loss of him. 

Once the doctor had loosened the padded bands that had been holding her down, Satoko pushed herself into a sitting position so she could fix her headband so her bangs were properly sitting. 

Irie-sensei looked at her with caring eyes before speaking to her again. “I am glad you’ve found the strength to be honest about all of this. I’m sure Satoshi would be so proud of you right now.” He said as he stood up and gave her another smile. “Alright. I’m going to finish up some discharge paperwork. I’ll be here if you need anyone to talk. Just press this button here to get my attention.” He said as he pointed at the small button hanging from the back of the bed board. 

Satoko nodded a little. She wasn’t planning to say anything else to anyone. She felt emotional raw, physically sore, and spiritually broken. She had ruined everything already. There was nothing more to say. 

The blonde turned her attention to her thin hands, staring at the bony appendages. She hadn’t really noticed her own thinness lately. Maybe it was because of the stress of dealing with the abuse, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe it didn’t even matter. 

Satoko was staring at the bed and drawing circles on the sheets when the sliding door was forced open. Satoko looked up just in time to see her uncle who was looking at her with an angry expression. “SATOKO!” The big man called out as he approached her. 

The thin girl froze in fear, stiffening up and immediately started shaking. “N-no, no, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She started, a mantra she had well rehearsed in her time living with the older man. 

“We are going home. Right now.” Her uncle said in a gruff voice as her grabbed her arm, tugging the needle out of her arm before pulling her off of the bed. 

Satoko let out a yelp and hit the ground from the infirmary bed hard. Despite this, she was still being tugged without even giving her time to get on her feet. 

Her uncle picked her up by her thin arm to get her onto her feet before continuing to lead her out of the clinic. “Fucking stupid kid.” He cursed under his breath as he aggressively pulled her. 

As they passed through the hall, Irie-sensei rushed up and got the older Houjou’s attention. “Hey, you still need to sign this paperwork.” He called after them. 

The blonde man paused, before turning to the doctor. “You told me we could go.” He said in an annoyed tone. 

Irie let out a weak chuckle, “Well, I still have to give Satoko her prescription... Wait, Satoko-chan? Who removed your IV?” 

Satoko shifted the arm her uncle had let go after Irie first called after them behind her back. “I... I removed my IV... I’m ready to go home.” She lied, hoping the red-headed doctor wouldn’t notice the small stream of blood that was running down her forearm. 

Irie-sensei was skeptical of the situation but wasn’t in a place to intervene. “Hmm... Let me go get your prescription, then I suppose there isn’t anything I can do to hold you.” He said, obviously not satisfied with that. 

After the doctor turned away to retrieve the medication, Satoko’s uncle put a hand on Satoko’s left shoulder. He gripped her small frame tightly as if warning her to continue her silence. 

When Irie-sensei appeared from the chemist room, Satoko’s uncle let his hand fall away from the blonde’s shoulder. He nearly snatched the script from the doctor before turning away. “Satoko.” He practically growled out. 

Satoko flinched a little before quickly speaking out to Irie-sensei, “I’m sorry I tried to hit you all. Thank you, again.” She said before rushing to catch up with her uncle. 

Once leering eyes weren’t on them anymore, the man pushed her towards the car. “Dumbass fuckin’ kid.” He muttered as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it while he got into the car. 

Satoko got into the car with shaking hands. “I-I’m sorry.” She said softly, glancing over at the man but keeping her head bowed. 

“Shut the fuck up. Your voice is givin’ me a headache.” He said as he started the old card and pulled away from the clinic. 

The rest of the ride to the Houjou home was silent. Satoko was shaking and she had started crying, but was chewing at her lips in an attempt to prevent herself from making a single sound. 

As soon as Satoko got out of the car, another apology left her lips. “Uncle, I’m sorry...” 

He walked around the car and grabbed her by her hair to pull her into the house. “‘Cause of you, they think I’m starvin’ you. You stupid little bitch, makin’ me look bad in front’a everyone.” He said as put force behind practically tossing the light girl towards the door. 

“Ah! Ngh! I-I didn’t mean— I’m sorry—“ Satoko said, rubbing her scalp as she struggled to get up so she could open the door. “I-I didn’t intend on telling... I-I shouldn’t have...”

“And you fuckin’ die? Bullshit, you stupid twerp.” He said, grabbing her collar as he ended up sliding the door open because Satoko had been taking too long for his liking. “Get your shoes off and come to the kitchen.” He said, shoving her. 

Satoko stumbled forward, tripping on the doorstep and onto the floor of the doorway. ‘ _Rika, Mion, someone... please, save me!_ ’ Satoko couldn’t help but think. All of this was so much and so hard to deal with. 

Once she was able to move yet again, the blonde bit her lip as she pushed herself up. She changed her shoes stiffly, her hands shaking as she moved. She didn’t want to know why her uncle had insisted she come to the kitchen. Satoko knew that it wasn’t good. 

She limped her way to the kitchen, unsure of what she going to come up to. When she got to the room, Satoko let out a gasp. There was food on the table—food that she hadn’t had to make herself. 

“Eat.” Her uncle commanded, giving her a rather stern look. It was the kind of look that made Satoko have shocks of fear before he even had done anything. “I don’t want to see any of this food by bedtime.” He said, tapping the table before he got up. 

Satoko nodded a little, feeing intimidated by the sheer volume of food in front of her. She knew that her appetite would simply not allow all of this food into her body; but hopefully, just hopefully, she could possibly finish it all.


	3. Chapter 3

Satoko’s mauve eyes rested on the food left on the table. It was nearing 9 o’clock, the general time that she would start getting ready for sleep. However, despite this, she had only finished about half of the food that had been prepared for her by her uncle. The anxiety that hung in her wake left her antsy and made her already over-full stomach do cartwheels. She knew that her failure to follow her uncle’s commands meant that something bad had to happen. That’s just how it went. 

Satoko took another bite of one of the side dishes, feeling herself nearly gag from stuffing herself so full. She could feel her eyes stinging as her tears threatened to spill over, threatening to make her look more pathetic than she already did. The blonde closed her eyes for a moment, tears escaping and running down her hollow face. ‘Nii-nii... Nii-nii...!’ She thought as she prepared herself for whatever was going to come her way. Satoko just wanted her brother to return to her. She just wanted those days when the two of them could have fun at school, play sports together, eat dinner together.... but those days were gone, and Satoko didn’t know how to get them back. 

“Satoko! Why is there still food on the table?” The booming voice of her uncle rang throughout the room, causing the petite blonde to jump. She very quickly backed herself into the corner that was farthest from the door that her uncle had come through. 

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry.. I-I couldn’t—!” She didn’t even get the full sentence out before her uncle grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her up closer to his face. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he scowled at her angrily. 

“I don’t give a fuck if you couldn’t. You’re gonna.” He demanded, tossing her back down before grabbing a bowl of rice from atop the table. No hesitation was seen from the man as he threw the rice at her, bowl and all. 

Satoko tried to dodge it but it hit her head and recached off of her, spreading grains of rice all across the tatami flooring. “I-I’m so sorry, I’m sorry…” She said, the tears she had been fighting to stop coming back full force. She bit the inside of her cheek, knowing that she had to fight that reaction. She couldn’t cry. She had to be strong. 

The man grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down where the rice was strewn across the floor, “I said to eat it.” He said, a scowl across his features as he pressed her face hard against the straw flooring and pressed some of the rice from the floor into her mouth. 

The blonde couldn’t help but cough as he forced the dirty food into her mouth. Her stomach was flipping and she wanted to fight against him; however, she knew that fighting against the man would do nothing but cause more pain for her in the end. She would be better off just letting him get his way than fighting his will. 

“I-I don’t.. I-I don’t think I can…!” She tried to explain once more. She had gone so long without eating much of anything that eating more than double what even a normal healthy person should eat had left her feeling sick and there was no way that she could even pretend to eat a full family meal by herself. In her state, the tears escaped her eyes once more. 

Her uncle let out a growl and let go of her hair as he stood back up. “Fuckin’ bitch, not worth it.” He said as he went to kick her. 

Satoko let out a cough, moving onto her hands and knees so she could cover her mouth quickly. As she did this, the man kicked her in the gut roughly, not minding that she was already looking ill. 

“Little fuckin’ wimp, can’t even take a bit of kicking.” He commented as he stepped down on her back to force her back down onto the floor and then kicking her in the ribs. 

This was the last straw for Satoko. She coughed violently and threw up into her hand that was still covering her mouth. She coughed again and ended up throwing up more, heaving as she tried to stop herself. The fear that wracked through her because of what she had done was crippling. In her mind, all she could do was beg for forgiveness as she looked up at her uncle with fearful eyes. 

“You little—!” The drunk man hissed out as he leaned down, grabbing her hair and pressing her face into the sick roughly. “Don’t fuckin’ move. If I see you even move an inch and there’ll be a lot more than a bit’a kickin’ to your side. Got it, bitch?” He said, as her rubbed her face in the partially digested vomit. 

The blonde nodded just a little, her body aching and her eyes stinging. Even though her natural instinct was to try and move immediately, she had to fight that. She closed her eyes and kept up her internal mantra of apologies and repenting. 

“Stupid fuckin’ kid, thinks she’s got any damn freedom. What the hell is this new generation thinkin’?” The drunkard muttered as he got up from the floor and turned away from her. He went into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle before walking to the front door. 

Satoko heard the front door slide open and then shut. She didn’t dare immediately move, fear still pulsing through her. There had been times in the past where her uncle would leave and soon return, as if he had done it specifically to test her discipline so she didn’t dare test him. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. 

As she laid there, pain slowly becoming more prevalent, she chewed on the inside of her mouth in an attempt to calm herself down. Her internal dialogue had become a bit toxic as she tried to block out all of her senses. ‘You know that if you had been stronger when Nii-nii was around, this wouldn’t be happening. He wouldn’t have left, and you wouldn’t have had to go through this. This is just one punishment. One punishment for all of the wrong that you’ve done.’ She told herself. 

The blonde continued repeating these kinds of toxic things to herself as time went on, her body and mind slowly wearing down until she ended up somehow falling asleep. She didn’t fight it, knowing that there was no reason to stay up. Her uncle had definitely gone out with his friends to drink more and probably wouldn’t return until morning — something he often did if he wasn’t hosting a gathering there for her to cater. 

__

The morning came quicker than the blonde could have hoped. She let out a small groan and tried to move, finding the task more difficult than she had expected. The pain in her body felt like it had been amplified tenfold by the fact that she was on the floor. Feeling the tatami below her welcomed memories to come flooding back. 

Right… The night before, her uncle had told her she couldn’t move from the sick on the floor. He had forced her to eat, just to cause her to vomit and then left her to lay in it. Right. 

Satoko hesitated at first before listening closely. Besides the ever-so-familiar sound of cicadas outside, she could hear a quiet snore from probably just the next room away. Similar to most mornings, her uncle had partied through the night and came out at some ghastly hour of the night shitfaced.

The blonde bit her tongue hard as she braced herself and used her weak arms to sit herself up. It was like agony to move from the floor. Her face felt like someone had lit half of it on fire, undoubtedly from the acids of her sick on the floor that she had been left to sleep in the night before. Her eyes felt dry and it hurt to breathe through her nose. 

She let out a small groan as she dragged herself up using the table that was still decorated with many foods that were surely ruined by being left out overnight. Although it seemed like her uncle was sleeping, he was going to eventually wake up and when he did, this had to be cleaned. 

Satoko pushed herself into a standing position. Her calves burned, showing her that the kicking that her uncle had done had hurt her in more than just her abdomen. She stretched a little before she started gathering dishes off of the table. She hated throwing so much food out, but with all of it having been left out, very little could be saved. She finished scraping the last plate of food, finishing up filling the sink. 

After she packed up the foods that were safe to eat after being left out, she grabbed a broom to clean the rice grains from the floor. Satoko had to get on her hands and knees to scrub the tatami to try and get the vomit from the tiled straw floor. The only thing that she could do after scrubbing it with her bare hands was to gather the tatami mats up and taking them outside to rest them against the wall of the side of her house, where they were most likely to see sunlight. 

The blonde finished cleaning things up before going into the bathroom to clean her face. It was still burning, and she knew it was just going to get worse when she started picking out the pieces of food from the burnt skin. 

She slipped into the bathroom after getting a hand towel, letting out a small hiss after she saw herself in the mirror. Her eye above the wound was swollen and gaining a bruise around it. Her skin had dried blood, food, and sick on the wound. She was really not looking forward to cleaning her face. 

Satoko got the towel wet and gritted her teeth as she started running the towel over her wound. She let out a hiss and let out curses under her breath as she began scrubbing at the raw skin. As she bit her cheek, the blonde pressed hard against her cheek to scrub off the dried food bits. She couldn’t help as tears began escaping her eyes. It hurt her so much to clean this raw wound on her face, but she knew that if she left it alone it would only get worse. 

As she continued pressing the towel against her face to clean up the wound, she heard a knock on her front door. Satoko finished up cleaning her face to the best of her ability, trying to ignore the few places that had started bleeding again. She could only hope that the person at the door just wouldn’t see the wound. Satoko put the towel on the edge of the sink and took the hairband off that held her bangs back a little before shaking her hair down so it blocked some of the bloody raw spot. 

Satoko looked at herself in the mirror before deciding that she looked okay enough to get the door. 

She walked past her uncle quietly, working especially hard not to make him stir at all. The last thing that she needed was her uncle regaining consciousness, especially with the stacked up sink and the tatami still outside clearing out. 

The thin girl got to the front door and slowly slid the door open just the smallest bit as a way to hide her face. “Yes?” She spoke softly, not realizing just how rough her voice was going to sound. 

“Satoko!” The blonde heard the voice before her eyes landed on the person. It was Mion. Of all of the people to come and visit her at home, it had to be Mion?

“What’s the matter?” Satoko ask, coughing a little to both clear her throat and also try to cover her bases on why she was still at home. 

“Chie-sensei sent me to come check on you. She said you were feeling very ill yesterday so she was concerned.” The green-haired girl said as she moved a little closer to the door. 

The blonde looked away for a moment, “I-I’m okay. Just a bit of a sore throat.” 

“May I come in?” The next head of the Sonozaki family asked, gesturing to the door that she was standing pretty close to. 

“My uncle is sleeping on the couch right now, so I can’t let anyone in.” Satako said, glancing behind her to the living room. 

“Hmm…” Mion made a thoughtful noise before speaking again, “Then could you come out here for a sec?” She asked, taking a small step away from the door. 

Satoko unintentionally let out an audible sigh. She glanced behind herself again before brushing her hair into her face. She slid the door open enough that she could step out before sliding it shut behind her. 

“Satoko, what happened to your—?” The older girl started but was interrupted by the thin girl. 

“I fell yesterday, after mopping up the kitchen floor. I was really dizzy, and tripped on a tatami mat.” Satoko said, barely brushing her fingers against the wound on her face. 

Mion nodded just a little, though she could see through Satoko’s lie. Almost everything that the younger girl had said lately was a lie. “Ahh, okay.” Mion responded, before giving Satoko a smile. “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me on a short walk since we can’t sit in your house… You’ve not really been talking to any of us, you know? You’ve even been pushing Rika away lately.” 

The blonde looked at the ground for a moment before she nodded slowly. “I… Guess that that would be okay.” She said softly. She glanced back at her house, her thoughts filled on whether or not her uncle was going to wake up as she was out. ‘Hopefully he won’t wake up before I get back… Or I’ll be in a lot of trouble…” Satoko thought as she looked down at her slippers. “Oh, let me switch shoes.” 

The blonde quickly slipped back into the house so that she could put her flats on. As she did this, she thought about just locking herself into the house and hiding away from Mion. However, she knew that she couldn’t do that. She had to face Mion at school and around Rika so she couldn’t run away from this. 

She slipped back outside after changing her shoes and looked up at Mion, “Okay, let’s walk.” She said, starting to walk before Mion. 

Mion quickly caught up to thin girl and looked over at her. “So… how is everything? Everyone at school was super worried when you left early with Chie-sensei.” 

“I was just very anxious. Chie-sensei found out that I hadn’t been taking my injections so…” Satoko said with a small shrug. “I’m honestly fine.” 

Mion narrowed her eyes just a small bit before letting out a hum. “I see… How are things with your uncle going?” She asked. Just her own observations told her that Satoko was suffering under his care but Mion needed to make casual chat before her switch and bate. 

“Same as ever.” Satoko answered, looking at the ground before looking up at Mion. The blonde was trying her best to figure out what her upperclassmen was looking for with this conversation. Mion was a pretty sly person, with plenty of secrets that even her closest friends didn’t know about. But Satoko assumed that was just something that came with her job of being an incoming leader to one of the Three Houses. 

The green haired girl nodded again, more to her own line of thinking than what Satoko had said. ‘That means that Satoko is still suffering.. If not worse than when Satoshi-kun was still around…’ She thought to herself, as she watched Satoko walk almost like a zombie, with how she had no hop in her step, no emotion in her eyes. Everything about her looked depressed. And then the wound on her face. There was no way to miss that. It was very obvious that she was not clumsy enough to do that, just from tripping. There had to be an external source, and Mion knew that there was. Looking at Satoko was hard, especially when she took in just how thin the girl was. Satoko was so thin that Mion felt like just giving her hug would break her. How could anyone hit a child as innocent and small as Satoko?

“Manager said that me missing my medicine is why I am becoming so clumsy.” Satoko said, watching her feet. Everything she was spouting was lies, and even though she didn’t want to lie to her friend, she had no choice. Her Nii-nii would feel so ashamed if she fell back on someone all because of a little bruise here and there. It was nothing. It was just a trial to see if she was worthy to have her Nii-nii back, and she was going to try her best not to mess it up. 

Mion smiled at Satoko and nodded, “Yeah, but you’ve always been a bit clumsy, yeah? You used to miss school all of the time because of those killer stairs in your house.” She said, trying to make a joke of Satoko’s primary excuse about falling down the stairs. 

Satoko put a fake smile on her washed out face, “Yeah, I guess I just have back luck.” She said, trying to push all of her happy emotion to the surface, so that her smile wouldn’t look so superficial. 

“Mmm. But Rika also has it rough, you know? Living in that extra house all by herself. I’m rather glad that she was the priest’s daughter, or I don’t know what would have happened to her.” Mion spoke, letting out a small sigh. Rika’s father had died of unknown causes almost 3 years prior, leaving the young shrine maiden alone to figure out her own way to handle life. The Sonozaki family had invited Rika to live with them, but she had turned them down. 

“Yeah…” The depression in Satoko’s mauve eyes got even deeper, and she looked like she was going to break open with the pressure of her sadness any second now. 

Even though Mion knew that this was cruel, she was pretty sure it would get some of the emotion that Satoko had been feeling out and maybe even get her to confess what had been happening to her. “Well, she didn’t want any help. She said that she would rather live on her land alone. My mother offered her a place to stay in our home but she politely declined. It was almost as if she didn’t want any help.”

“Do you think Rika will be okay?” Satoko asked softly as she messed with a frayed bit of her shirt. 

“I don’t really know… She’s too young to be independent. I don’t think I could even live like she does.” 

Satoko tooked at the ground and frowned. She could feel her emotions digging their claws into her even deeper. 

Mion watched Satoko before she cleared her throat a little before speaking again. “So… How are you really? Like, really really?” She said, her tone a bit more insistent. “I know you aren’t fine… We all know you aren’t.” 

Satoko bit her lip and looked off into the woods off of the path they were walking on, “But I am fine…” Her thin arms came up to cross across her chest as if to protect herself. 

“Satoko, I’m not blind.” Mion said, taking a step to stop the blonde in her path. “I can see that burn on your face, the bruises on your arms, the way you hide yourself. I’ve known you forever. I can tell something is wrong.” Mion said before taking a small step towards her. “You aren’t fine.” 

Satoko turned away, her eyes looking glassy. “It’s nothing. I can handle it on my own.” 

Mion shook her head, a bit of anger welling up in her chest. “Satoko…. Obviously you can’t. If you could, you wouldn’t be hurting like this. If you could, you wouldn’t be missing school all of the time, or constantly having to lie…” Mion took in a breath before continuing, “Or having to starve yourself.” 

The blonde turned and looked up at Mion with wide eyes, fear on her expression, “H-how do you know about that…?” She asked, her voice shaking. 

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you need to start being honest with us, your friends, so we can help you.” Mion said, acknowledging the way that Satoko’s face transformed into that of pure fear at the mention of her eating. 

Satoko shook her head, her hands coming to her head. “N-no, I didn’t… I don’t understand… I’m fine, I can do this by myself…” Satoko said, speaking through her hands. She took another step away from Mion, her shoe getting caught on a rock. It caused her to stumble back and fall onto her tailbone. 

Mion quickly got down onto the ground to offer a hand to Satoko, but the blonde just shook her head at the offer. “Satoko, I’m not going to tell anyone… Only your friends know. We wouldn’t betray you like that.” 

The small girl looked up at Mion’s face, seeing no trace of of anything other than sympathy. She couldn’t take any of this anymore. Why was everyone bothering her so much when she knew that she could handle this on her own?

The next head of the Sonozaki household saw the pain on Satoko’s face as she looked away. She could see the shame and regret on the blonde’s expression and she wished there was a way to fix it all. Mion knew that Satoko had a goal in mind, but would her dream really be actualised? Satoshi hadn’t been heard from since his disappearance. Would her determination really be enough to bring him back?

Satoko didn’t want to show weakness. She had done such a good job at painting a picture much different than the truth, even if people could see through it. Wasn’t it all going to go to waste if she dropped the façade yet again? She had mistakenly told Chie-sensei, which was the whole reason her face was damaged in the first place. She couldn’t make another misstep. 

Despite the words the blonde kept repeating to herself, she felt the first few tears escape her eyes. She was trembling like a leaf as she bit her bottom lip in an attempt to prevent more of a panic attack than it felt like she was enduring at that moment. However, once the dam had started to crack, the flood gates opened and the thin child couldn’t stop it. 

Satoko covered her mouth and nose with her hands as she started crying. It wasn’t a silent cry either. It was years worth of trauma, grief, and pain tumbling out of her. 

Mion was taken slightly aback, having not seen Satoko cry honestly since before her brother left. She moved onto her own knees and pulled the small kid into her arms. “You’re okay now, Satoko.” She said softly. 

The blonde let out a small wail as she clung to Mion’s shirt and pressed her face into her neck. She couldn’t get the tears to stop, instead only causing herself to let out small gasps as she kept holding her breath to try and silence herself. “I-I’m sorry.... I’m so sorry...!” She spoke against the cotton of her upperclassmen’s shirt. “I-I don’t... I don’t understand... any of this...!” She said through hiccups and sobs. 

Mion ran her hand across Satoko’s back as a way to comfort the younger girl. She knew everything that had happened in the last four years that had buried Satoko in grief and stress. Honestly, it was its own miracle that Satoko had managed to survive all of the challenges life had tossed her way. While she survived, Satoko had definitely come out of it a different person. She had once been very dependant on her brother, every small trial that occurred left her crying out for him. After the older Houjou sibling had vanished, Satoko didn’t rely on anyone. She never asked for help, she never cried. Mion couldn’t imagine the pain Satoko had endured just with the disappearance of Satoshi, much less anything else she had had to suffer through. 

Satoko hiccupped again, pressing herself against Mion’s chest. “I-I’m so scared... scared to get close to anyone... what if they die? Or disappear...?” She muttered out as her tears slowly started to calm down. 

The green haired girl could see the fear in Satoko’s eyes. Her small hands were holding onto her blazer like her life depended on it as she grieved. Honestly, with the way things were going, her life could very well end tomorrow. 

Satoko couldn’t muster the ability to talk anymore for a long moment. She instead hid her face against Mion’s chest as she continued crying. She had gone mostly silent, instead occasionally gasping or hiccuping. Her mind was numb and she was trembling. “I-I want out...” She murmured after a long while. “I... I can’t do this anymore...” She whispered, pulling away enough that she could look at her friend. “Pl-please help...” Her voice was so quiet that if they hadn’t been huddled together on the dirt, Mion probably wouldn’t have heard. 

Mion let out a gasp and watched Satoko’s face for a moment. “Help?” She repeated, her own voice a bit quiet. Despite her bold and brash personality, Mion did have a bit of a motherly quality sometimes. 

Satoko nodded just a little. “E-everyone already knows....” She said, the rasp in her voice a bit more evident. She clung the Mion before she spoke in a soft voice. “M-my uncle… He…” She stopped before taking in a deep breath. “I-I want to get away from it… Last… Last night made me realize how foolish I’ve been about all of this…” 

Honestly, Mion hadn’t seen the younger girl as particularly mature before that moment. However, asking for help the way she had was stronger than any adult had mustered around the heiress. She took in a small breath before she quietly asked Satoko, “What... happened last night?” Mion wasn’t sure she actually wanted to know. 

Satoko was uncertain of if she could vocalise whether had occurred, her heart pounding so hard it made her nauseous. “I...” She shook her head, having started but not able to actually share how the burn on her face came to be. 

Mion didn’t need a story to feel an angry light within her. To know that /something/ happened, something so horrible it actually burned Satoko’s face... It made the twin almost seethe with anger. “Was... was it sexual?” She asked, her voice just barely above a whisper. She hadn’t intended for that question to come out so quiet. 

Satoko shook her head and bit her lip. “N-not this time.” The way she word it leaving it clearly obvious that a sexual motive had previously been behind what had happened to the petite grade schooler. 

The next leader of the Sonozaki head gripped her hand into a fist tightly as she tried not to have an outburst of anger right there. While Satoko had never voiced it before, Mion had suspected that more than just physical abuse had occurred, since Satoko had shown up to school with bruises that looked too suspicious to be just from getting hit. “I’m gonna kill him.” She muttered, the look on her face twisting a little into an intimidating look. 

The blonde looked up at Mion, realization painted across her expression, “Y-you can’t do that…” She said softly. Satoko’s words weren’t even because of worry when it came to her uncle’s life. No, it was more selfish than that. She was worried that Mion would be taken away from her. If Mion killed her uncle, then she would have to go to jail, right? And if that were the case, Satoko would only feel worse. 

“Listen to me, okay, Satoko?” Mion started, gently placing her hands on Satoko’s shoulders. The small flinch from Satoko only fed into the anger she was doing quite a good job to keep under wraps in from of the younger girl. “I want you to go to Rika’s. Go to Rika’s and act like you know nothing. If the police get there before I do, don’t say a word.” 

Satoko could feel tears began to tease her eyes again and she shook her head, “Mion… Y-you really can’t… He’s too strong… W-what if he hurts you…?” 

“I’ll deal with that as it comes up. Please, Satoko. If I do this… I won’t get in trouble. I may get in trouble with my family but the police can’t touch me, okay?” Mion reassured as she pulled Satoko closer to give her another hug.

The younger of the two couldn’t find her words to rebuttal. It was true that if Mion brought up her family lineage, that was enough to deter any police investigation, especially when her family practically owned Hinamizawa and Okinomiya. There wasn’t a way to defy them, honestly. However, Satoko still feared. She had seen her uncle almost literally pick up Satoshi and throw him against a wall. She knew the mad was strong. The only buffer to his strength was the hangover he undoubtedly had. 

Mion pulled away from Satoko and pushed herself up, before offering her hand to Satoko. “C’mon.” She said, her voice a little muted. She was still trying to hide just how searing hot her anger was at the Houjou uncle. She didn’t want to scare Satoko with that level of anger — a level of anger she wasn’t even sure she understood or had felt before for anyone other than Shion. 

Satoko took Mion’s hand and glanced up at the other while she worked to get her skeletal body up to a standing position. The soreness wracking through her had gotten worse, stiffness making it hard for her to actually move. 

“Now, go to Rika’s house. I’ll be there when it’s over. Don’t say anything to anyone on the way there. Just go.” Mion said, that dark glint in her eyes showing how serious she really was. 

Satoko clinched her jaw and nodded just a little. “Pl-please… be safe.” She said quietly. She watched Mion for a moment too long before turning away from her. “Please don’t die too.” The blonde finished before she poured all of her remaining energy on running in the direction on the Furude shrine. She gritted her teeth as she ignored the growing stitch in her side and the stinging on her face. She was terrified by all of this. This was all unprecedented. It was all new and that terrified her. 

The blonde only slowed down once she saw the rock steps that led up to the main shrine area. She grabbed onto a tree and huffed out, feeling sick from the way that she had pushed herself. She was a dizzy, her chest hurt, her lungs burned, and her body screamed in protests of moving even another inch. Despite this, Satoko pushed forward, watching the small storage building that was ahead of her where Rika stayed. 

By the time that she got to the door of the building, Satoko could barely stand up. The world was spinning and she felt sick to her stomach. She raised a shaking hand and knocked on the sliding door, despite not expecting Rika to be home. She had seen the shrine maiden’s bike but that didn’t mean that Rika was there. 

The sliding door slid open, revealing a sleepy looking Rika, who rubbed her eyes with a soft “Mii.” Before actually addressing Satoko. “Oh, Satoko? Why aren’t you at school? Did something happen?” She asked, her voice a little rough, presumably from sleepiness. 

“I—…” Satoko stopped herself as another lie nearly tumbled right out of her mouth. That wasn’t necessary anymore. “Can I… I come in?” She asked, still running out of breath. Satoko definitely regretted running to Rika’s. 

The more petite of the two nodded, and stepped out of the doorway, “Of course.” She said as she did so. Even though the two of them had been friends since before Satoko’s parents had died, they weren’t close enough to visit one another’s’ home much since Satoko didn’t have much free time with her home life. Ever since Satoko’s brother had left, even their club activities had been cut short frequently and the rest of the group ended up not wanting to play without her.

The blonde stepped into the house and slipped off her shoes, sliding on the extra pair of house slippers Rika had prepared for guests. She was still dizzy and worried about fainting, but tried to power through it as she changed shoes. Satoko took in a deep breath and spoke softly, “I came over because Mion sent me.” She shared, looking down at the floor. In that moment, she had completely forgotten that her face had been marred by the burn from the abuse, her attention too focused on not blacking out. 

Rika was going to ask for a reason why their upperclassmen would have sent Satoko to her house but she was distracted by how pale the blonde had become. She looked unsteady and maybe even a little ill, which worried the younger of the two. “Do you need to sit? There isn’t very much space downstairs but I’m sure I can find you something...” Rika asked, looking at Satoko with concern in her expression. 

Satoko shook her head just a small bit, worried moving it too much would cause her to stumble. “No, it... it’s okay.” She said, as she forced herself to take a bigger breath. “We... should go talk.” 

Rika wasn’t convinced but didn’t want to overstep a boundary so she nodded a little and pointed to the stairs. “I live up there, the ground floor is all storage for the shrine.” She spoke before taking a step back. “You should go first.” 

The blonde looked up the steps before she started leading the way. She held to the railing with a tight grip as she pulled herself up each step.

Rika had offered Satoko go first in case she stumbled, even tho there wasn’t much the dark haired girl could do if her friend fell besides act as a cushion. Either way, she would do whatever she could. 

Once they both made it to the top of the stairs, Satoko fell to her knees and leaned a little against the wall. Her energy levels were gone and doing all of this physical strain didn’t help. 

Rika came up beside her and put her hand on the thin girl’s head. “Are you okay?” She asked softly, her face showing a friendly concern. Deep inside, Rika was worried. She hadn’t forgotten what she had her friend group had been told about Satoko. Knowing the older of the two hadn’t been eating on top of what her uncle had been doing to her... it was a miracle she was alive at all. 

Satoko didn’t reply for a second before she let out a noise in agreement. She turned her body so she was sitting more naturally while leaning against the wall and spoke softly. “Mion is going to kill my uncle.” The words sounded strange in her mouth. 

Rika raised an eyebrow and looked slightly shocked. “Mii-chan?” She said out loud as if she needed to hear it again for confirmation. Thinking of Mion as one to commit murder was foreign to to the shrine maiden. There were plenty others in their friend group she could think of who would commit murder and Mion hadn’t been one of them. 

Satoko nodded slowly and looked up at Rika. “She... came over to check on me since I missed school today and...” Satoko felt a ping of guilt at the thought that she had been the one to dig Mion into such strong feelings. “I-I ended up telling her everything.” 

The slightly shorter of the two nodded a little and scooted a few inches closer to the blonde. “Everything?” Rika hadn’t missed the very glaring wound on Satoko’s face, she simply hadn’t addressed it in fear of making Satoko uncomfortable and recoil. 

Satoko nodded again, putting a finger into her mouth to chew on her nail. “She... had asked about my face and... she’s too smart, I couldn’t get her to believe me...” the gradeschooler spoke, anxiety riddled in her tone of voice. “So I had to tell her... and... and...!” She was getting worked up again, opting to bite the tips of her fingers to stop the tears from escaping her mauve eyes. 

“She decided to murder him?” Rika asked, her voice suddenly a little more mature than Satoko had been expecting. 

The blonde looked down the stairs and spoke. “Yeah... She told me to come here... act like I don’t know what happened...” Satoko’s voice was soft, her anxiety obvious. 

Rika let out a small hum before she pushed herself up to a standing position. “Do you think you can make it to the kitchen? I’ll make us some tea.” She said softly, her regular lighthearted tone back. 

Satoko used the top of the railing to brace herself to her feet as well before agreeing. “I can do it.” She said, her voice shaking a little. A combination of things from the last few days had really worn her down. 

The smaller girl looked wary but didn’t reach out to help the older girl without her request. “Okay... it’s this way.” She said, gesturing gently to the sliding panels to her right. “Just right in here. My futon is out still, but I can put it away real quick.” Rika shared as she led the way into the living and kitchen area of the home. 

Judging from the hallway, there was a separate bedroom, but Satoko didn’t much thought into why Rika didn’t use it. It could have also been storage space that was taken or maybe she liked the idea of small apartment like living. Either way, she followed her friend into the room. She wanted to offer to help her friend, who obviously wasn’t feeling in tip-too shape herself considering she had missed school; however, her wobbly legs and shaking hands told her she would probably just make it worse. 

Rika folded the futon with expertise and put it away in the closet before folding out the table and pulling out cushions from the closet behind it. “There we go. Let me go heat some water.” She said as she slid into the adjoining kitchen, pulling a step stool from the corner to turn on an eye the stove and fill a tea pot with water. A few moments later and the dark haired girl was settling in at the table, looking up at Satoko. 

The blonde had dissociated a little while Rika prepared for her guest, opting to lean against the wall rather than sit at the table. The combined fatigue of her physical condition and her poor mental state meant that blank stares were inevitable, despite how embarrassing they came off to be. 

“Satoko?” Rika said, snapping the other out of her state of blankness. 

The thin girl blinked a couple times and she let out a small nervous laugh. “Y-yeah.” She said as she moved to sit at the table across from Rika. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rika asked gently. She had seen Satoko out of it but this was beyond even what she was used to. 

“Mm-hm. I’m just... tired.” Satoko said softly. “Last night was hard... I didn’t get much rest.” She confessed without elaborating on the events that had occurred. Somehow she was still justifying the actions of her uncle, still blaming herself and feeling shameful of it. 

Rika got up and moved to sit next to Satoko before putting her hand on her head again and patting gently. 

The action caused a small jolt in Satoko, reminding her of her brother. It left her feeling even more raw and she bit her lip to try and prevent the tears again. Once she had cried once, the flood gates were open and her body told her crying was all she could do to handle all of this. 

Rika saw the change in emotion on her friend’s face so she pulled away slowly. “I’m sorry.” She spoke before she pulled Satoko into a gentle hug. 

Satoko couldn’t help as tears escaped her eyes again when Rika hugged her. “I-I should be the one apologising...” she muttered out as she weakly returned the hug. Satoko had been lying to Rika’s face for months, probably even years. She knew she had been a burden, not just in Rika but all of her friends. She was a Houjou, a damned child. Anyone who spent time with her was cursed to be damned as well. 

Rika shook her head, “No... you’ve gone through so much. You’ve atoned for any sin you or your whole family commuted. You’ve more than atoned.” She said quietly. She held onto the blonde for a few moments more before she got up to stop the whistling of the tea pot. 

Satoko was gripping her dress, her body shaking as she tried to process those words. Her own self-hate mantra was louder than any words Rika told her, leaving the blonde to struggle to listen. 

The younger girl returned to sit next to Satoko again, this time sitting two steaming cups of steeping two of front of them. “It’s chamomile.” She said with a smile. 

Satoko looked from the cup to Rika with a smile before she looked away again. She felt so raw and so tired. Even so much as that small of a smile felt like so much work in that moment.

Rika noticed the way Satoko was closing in o herself again and spoke up, “Do you need anything else? I have some left overs if you’re hungry... or if you need a shower, I have some extra clothes you can borrow.” 

Satoko shook her head and looked at Rika with a slightly sad expression. “I’m honestly just so tired...” 

The shrine maiden couldn’t help as she looked at Satoko with concern. The bruising on her body, along with how thin she was, and her fatigue... things didn’t look good. However, Rika only wanted to help so she nodded a little. “Okay, I have an extra futon I can pull out for you. That way you can rest a little.” She said with a small friendly smile. 

Mauve eyes met deep blue ones and she nodded a little. “That sounds good.” She said softly as she lifted the tea to taste it. 

Rika got up from the table and disappeared down the hall to rummage through some things before she came back with an air sealed storage container with a futon inside. She unwrapped it band fluffed it out, before going off again to probably find bedding. 

Satoko had unintentionally started dissociating again, staring at the liquid in her cup as her mind raced with so much things, yet was simultaneously blank all at once. She continued staring off like this until Rika tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. 

“The futon’s ready.” She shared, showing Satoko to ready-to-sleep futon laying on the floor on the other side of the table where Rika had originally been sitting. “It might be a little flat from storage but I tried fluffing it a little for you.” 

Satoko looked from the bed to Rika before she nodded a little and pushed herself up using the table. “Thank you.” Her voice was quiet. Her brain was undoubtedly shutting down from the strain of yesterday and today blurring together. It was all so much she almost forgot about what Mion was probably doing in that moment. “Is-Is it alright if I...?” She started, gesturing to the futon. 

“Of course! Please, take a nap. I have dishes to do, so I can turn this light off and close to kitchen screen so the light isn’t too bothersome.” Rika said as she got up and pulled the table a little. She left it out though, since she would probably work on a little homework after finishing the dishes while Satoko napped. 

The blonde bit at her nails again as she moved to the futon. She very slowly worked her way into the sheets and comforter, making small groans in pain as she moved. Once completely settled in, she looked over at Rika’s who was getting up to go start dishes. “Thanks again.... you’re such a good friend.” 

Rika smiled at her before saying her favourite catchphrase, “Nipah~” before turning the light off and slipping into the kitchen. 

Satoko didn’t even have to think much. The fatigue and pain in her body settled into a mind numbing hum throughout her nerves that automatically helped Satoko get to sleep. It didn’t even take her ten minutes before the blonde was quietly breathing in steady breaths, already falling into deep sleep.


End file.
